Shahid Sayeed Khan/Umer Bhatti/Shahbaz Hussain

In 2013, Shahid Sayeed Khan (b. Karachi), Umer Bhatti (b. 1983, Karachi) and Shahbaz Hussain (b. 1981, Karachi), all of whom are practising architects, began to collaboratively experiment on their own homes, using recycled and discarded materials to create artistic yet functional furniture, culminating in a group show at Faraar Gallery, Karachi. In 2014, the three concretised their collaboration in the establishment of Prometheans Studio, with the aim to blur the traditionally established lines between tools, hardware and ornamentation, realigning the relationship between form, function and sustainability. The design philosophy is to recycle materials in a manner which exposes their covert beauty, in opposition to the pervasive culture of homogenous design. Their first solo show ‘RETRONICS’ took place in Artchowk Gallery, Karachi, in February 2014, and their second solo show PROPRIOCEPTION took place at Nomad Art Gallery, Islamabad, in September 2014.

Their site-specific installation for the Karachi Biennale 2017, Forest of Hope, is a visual statement on the reality of climate change, expressed through a functional art comprised of recycled industrial material, in keeping with Prometheans Studios’ design philosophy. A densely packed bamboo ‘forest’ surrounds a chandelier made from skip-chains, gears sprockets, wheels, and other discarded materials. The sculptural installation depicts a ‘forest’ that has been impregnated and adulterated by a man-made machine symbolizing our entirely heinous role in the alarming rate of global deforestation, yet the light emitted from within the piece shines through, as glimmering rays of hope of a more sustainable future. Forest of Hope simultaneously condemns our industrialised destruction of the earth’s fragile environment, whilst also visually demonstrating the hope of an alternative future in which both industry and general society embraces sustainability.